Share this article

Winter Is Coming: Examining the Economy's Eight-Body Problem

From the devastation of the service industry to never-ending central bank intervention, these factors make predicting the future of the economy nearly impossible.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:46 a.m. Published Aug 21, 2020, 7:00 p.m.
(Aditya Vyas/Unsplash)
(Aditya Vyas/Unsplash)

From the devastation of the service industry to never-ending central bank intervention, these factors make predicting the future of the economy nearly impossible.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.comBitstamp and Nexo.io.

The “three-body problem” is a physics issue that deals with unpredictable futures.

In a recent essay, John Mauldin argues the economy is actually experiencing an “eight-body problem.”

See also: Here Comes the Most Bizarre Bull Market Yet

On today’s episode, NLW explores each of those dimensions shaping the challenge we face, including:

  • Central bank intervention
  • The destruction of the service industry
  • The implosion of global trade

In the end, he argues that in a world ruled by chaos, fighting to control the narrative might be the only rational move.

Read Ben Hunt’s essay “The Three-Body Problem.”

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Title Image

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

What to know:

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

More For You

Anthony Scaramucci-linked AVAX One tumbles 32% on uncertainty around shareholder sales

Consensus 2025: Anthony Scaramucci, Founder, SkyBridge Capital

The firm, which holds AVAX tokens and related Avalanche ecosystem assets, registered roughly 74 million shares held by insiders.

What to know:

  • Shares of AVAX One, a digital asset treasury firm advised by Anthony Scaramucci, fell more than 30% after the company filed to register up to nearly 74 million shares held by insiders as available for sale.
  • The registration, which enables early investors to resell previously restricted stock, stoked fears of dilution.
  • AVAX One's move reflects broader pressures on crypto-native public firms whose stocks trade at steep discounts to the value of their token holdings, though it remains unclear if or when the registered shares will be sold.